All about the massacre that inspired the series

Warning: American Primeval spoilers ahead!

The only thing more horrible than the violent story of American Primeval is that it is based on true events.

A dramatization of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Netflix series follows Sara Rowell (Betty Glipin), a determined mother who hires a guide named Isaac (Taylor Kitsch) to help her navigate safely across the western frontier with his son, Devin Rowell (Preston Mota). But that security is compromised when their party is attacked by Mormon soldiers disguised as Indians – and they find themselves in the middle of a deadly battle for control of the American West.

The gritty western premiered on January 9 and took over no. 1 place in the streamer’s top 10 the following day. This was told by director Peter Berg Tudum in January 2025, which he was inspired to make American Primeval after reading about the Utah War, a confrontation between the Mormons and the US government over land ownership that led to the violent killing of over 120 settlers, per Smithsonian Magazine.

Executive producer Eric Newman described the retelling as “an anti-nostalgic, truthful look at our history.”

“These rose-colored glasses through which we see the past, from the first Thanksgiving onward, is a lie,” he told Tudum. “It’s a lie that’s meant to make us feel good about this really rough, brutal path that we’ve taken. . . I think we’re doing ourselves a disservice by looking at it on that way because it prevents us from seeing it (happen) again.”

So, is American Primeval based on a true story? Here’s everything to know about the real-life massacre that inspired the six-episode series – and how faithful the dramatization is to the historical event.

Is American Primeval based on a true story?

Yes, American Primeval is based on true events. Berg told Tudum that he first found inspiration for the 2020 series after reading about the Utah War. Although many of the series’ characters and their stories are fictionalized, the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 inspired the attack depicted in the first episode.

“We chose it because there was this intersection between a couple of different Native nations, the U.S. government, the Mormons and the American citizens who felt they had a right to move through this area,” Newman said. “The Mountain Meadows Massacre happened … and it became, for our narrative purposes, an inciting conflict event for our cast.”

Who was Jim Bridger?

Jim Bridger, played by Shea Whigham in American Primevalwas a pioneer and fur trapper in the 19th century. He gained a reputation as one of the greatest explorers and mountain men of that era, surviving several dangerous expeditions across the largely unknown western frontier, per National Park Service. Bridger has several mountain ranges, towns, wilderness areas and even a national forest named in his honor.

Will Poulter portrayed the famous mountaineer as a young boy in the Leonardo DiCaprio-led film The Revenant. American Primeval takes place 50 years after the events of the 2015 film.

Who was Brigham Young?

Brigham Young, played by Kim Coates in the series, was president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 19th century. According to Smithsonian Magazine, he served as governor of Utah Territory for seven years and ran it as a theocracy that gave churches authority over civil affairs.

In 1857, President James Buchanan appointed a new governor to replace Young and enforce federal law. This—along with decades of tension between Mormons and the federal government over land ownership and plural marriage—created a heightened sense of war hysteria among members of the church.

“Brigham Young and the Mormons feel that the military is about to attack them at any moment, so they have started their own army called the Nauvoo Legion,” Newman told Tudum. “The US Army is preoccupied with getting the Mormons out of Utah territory, so they’re worried they’ll die fighting the Mormons.”

He continued, “The Shoshone and Paiute tribes are being pushed off their lands by both sides, so they feel like they’re getting ready to die. The miners and trappers at Fort Bridger are seeing all their lives snuffed out by larger trapping companies that come in and push them out. Everyone is anxious from the start and everyone is really fighting to stay alive.”

To preserve historical authenticity i American Primevalexecutive producer Mark L. Smith told Tudum that many of Young’s sermons in the series are taken directly from sermons he gave in real life.

Is Fort Bridger a real place?

Yes, Fort Bridger is a real place. In 1843, Bridger built a trading post in present-day Wyoming as a stop for people migrating west. The Mountaineer operated it for many years before it was purchased by the Mormons in 1855, per Wyoming State Parks. However, Bridger claimed he was forced to flee his fort in 1853 after Young sent 150 armed men to arrest him for breach of treaty.

Fearing the approach of the U.S. Army, Mormon leaders burned Fort Bridger in the fall of 1857. The site’s remains were dedicated as a Wyoming Historic Landmark and Museum in 1933. People can still visit the former fort today.

What was the Mountain Meadows Massacre?

In the summer of 1857, a wagon train of 140 settlers from Arkansas en route to California camped in a valley known as Mountain Meadows, per Smithsonian Magazine. Attacked by a group of men with painted faces, they fought back in a fierce siege that lasted five days.

The truce came only when a white man with a white flag approached the settlers and told them that the Mormon army had stopped the raiders and could escort them safely out of the area if they surrendered their weapons. That olive branch turned out to be a ruse and the Mormon army shot and killed everyone over the age of 7.

The Mormons covered up their involvement for decades, blaming the Paiute Indians. Although the tribe participated in the initial attack, over time historians determined that the Mormons were responsible. It was not until September 2007, 150 years after the massacre, that the Mormon Church formally acknowledged the role of its members in the murders.

Was Abish a real person?

No, Abish (played by Saura Lightfoot-Leon) was not a real person. However, Berg told Tudum that the character was inspired by the many historical accounts of women being abducted by native tribes during that time.

“We wanted to explore the idea of ​​this young Mormon woman who is kind of pushed into a life and a marriage that she didn’t ask for and who, through fate, ends up in a very different world and never quite assimilates,” the director said . .

Was James Wolsey a real person?

Newman told Tudum that James Wolsey (Joe Tippett) is a fictional character but is based on a real LDS member who was executed for participating in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. One such man was John D. Lee, who was part of the Mormon militia that led the attack, suspecting that the settlers were hostile to the church. National Park Service.

Although he remained an active church leader after the massacre, he was excommunicated in 1870 and hid from authorities until 1874. Lee was found guilty of murder and executed by firing squad at the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1877.

How many people died during the Mountain Meadows Massacre?

According to Smithsonian Magazine120 people were killed during the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Only 17 children under the age of 7 were spared.